History-Making Astronaut

Stephanie Wilson ’88 lived out nearly every child’s fantasy when she soared aloft aboard NASA’s space shuttle Discovery in...

From The September-October 2006 Issue

Stephanie Wilson ’88 lived out nearly every child’s fantasy when she soared aloft aboard NASA’s space shuttle Discovery in early July, making history as only the second African-American woman to venture into space. The Pittsfield, Massachusetts, native did graduate work at the University of Texas and was selected for NASA’s astronaut class of 1996; she then worked as a capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for orbiting space crews. During her recent 13-day, five-million-mile journey, the former engineering-science concentrator served as a mission specialist and was jointly in charge of operating the shuttle’s robotic arm to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station.

Stephanie Wilson
Courtesy of NASA

Published in the September-October 2006 print issue in the Alumni section.

Most popular

In 2004, a frenzy spread across Harvard Yard in days. Four billion users later, we are only just catching up.

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

House - Email

Explore More From Current Issue

A smiling elderly man in glasses sits comfortably in a striped armchair.

Harvard Administration

Plus, veteran higher education leader Thomas Ehrlich reflects on university curricula for his 70th reunion

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

Students

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

Portrait of a man in a denim shirt beside a blue book cover for "Gretal and the Great War" featuring an illustration of a leg holding an army helmet..

Arts & Culture

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.